Crazy Days
by Muffcakeloverxiii
Summary: Elliot and Leo had both good and bad days while attending boarding school. But there were always those days that could only be known as crazy. Friendship oneshots. Crack-ish.
1. We're late!

A/N:First Pandora Hearts fanfic! Yay!  
This is something I wrote when I ran into a plot bunny and followed it down a rabbit hole (lame, I know). I kept editing and making numerous revisions, and after about a week's worth of work, I finished it. So, I hope you all like it!

Disclaimer: Pandora Hearts, its characters, locations, and such are all property of Jun Mochizuki. I own nothing except for the plot of this story.

* * *

We're late!

The sky was clear and the sun was shining as its light filtered through the windows of Eliot's dorm room. The rays of sunshine were beaming so obnoxiously that as they hit Eliot's sleeping face, he woke up with a displeased groan. With an angry hiss at the sun, Eliot flipped his body over so that he was facing the wall. Being there was no more irritating light to wake him, he went back to his deep and peaceful (for once) sleep.

Unbeknownst to Eliot, Leo opened the bedroom door and popped his head in. Upon seeing his still sleeping master, he slipped into the room and crept over to Eliot's bed. He proceeded to prod the teenage heir repeatedly.

"Eliot…" he said softly, trying to rouse his friend from his slumber. He received no response, so he decided to try shaking his arm. "Eliot…" he spoke a little louder.

"Mehhhhh," Eliot groaned, flopping onto his stomach and burying his face in his pillow. Now Leo was annoyed. Normally, Eliot would wake up without much trouble after one or two tries.

Leo angrily snatched the pillow out from under his master's head, which caused Eliot's face to collide with the mattress. "WAKE UP!" he hollered, hitting Eliot in the back of the head with the pillow with a resounding whap. Eliot sat up with a start, winced and rubbed the spot on his head where he now had a stinging pain.

"What the hell, Leo?" he hissed grouchily.

"We missed breakfast," Leo responded calmly and turned to look at the grandfather clock in the main area of their dorm room. Eliot followed Leo's gaze to the clock's face and froze in fear as he stared at it.

The elderly timepiece's hands read ten minutes until eight o'clock. Breakfast was always at seven o'clock sharp, and their classes started at eight.

"Leo, you idiot! Why didn't you wake me up earlier!" Eliot yelled as he scrambled out of bed and over to his wash basin to clean his face, not giving Leo any time to reply. He was not about to be late to his lessons, lest he wished to bring his teacher's wrath upon himself.

Leo sighed quietly and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him to give Eliot some privacy as he readied himself for the day. He walked over to the coffee table and picked up the latest volume of the _Holy Knight_ series (he had already read it, but there was nothing wrong with rereading it to refresh the details). He sat down on the sofa and opened it to where he left off at chapter 35.

Meanwhile, Eliot was running about his room like a spazz trying to get ready for school. He changed out of his sleepwear and quickly dressed himself without bothering to look at his room's full-length mirror to make sure his uniform was in order. He grabbed his violin case/disguised sword case and rushed out of his room.

Leo looked up from his book upon hearing his master's footsteps and all he could do was stare in wide-eyed bewilderment from behind his glasses at the sight of seeing Eliot. As Eliot put his shoes on, Leo shook his head rapidly and blinked a few times to make he was not hallucinating. He was not. For goodness sake, Leo thought as he subtlety face palmed himself.

"Um, Eliot…" he said as Eliot reached for the doorknob.

"What?" Eliot asked, turning to his servant/best friend.

"Well…" Leo began not quite sure of how to word what he wanted to say.

"Yes?" Eliot questioned, now becoming more than little impatient for an answer as he walked over to the sofa.

"How to put it…" Leo muttered still trying to think of the proper words so he would not sound vulgar (not like he had not been that to Eliot way before though). While he was thinking, two hands took a firm grip of his shoulders and an ominous, dark shadow was cast over him. He looked up to see Eliot looming over him with a sharp glare on his face that he usually only used when he did not get what he wanted right away.

"Out with it already!" Eliot shouted, shaking the smaller boy rather violently for only a matter of a few seconds. He continued to glare Leo down for a long while after he finished his little bit of torment.

Leo sighed. "Look down," he stated bluntly as he brought his book up to cover his face.

Confusion etched itself onto Eliot's face as he quirked an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"You'll understand what I mean if you look down," Leo said calmly from behind the novel. "Trust me."

Eliot was perplexed, but he complied. He looked down and instantly his entire face turned tomato red and his eyes grew to the size of two dinner plates.

Eliot was not wearing any trousers.

Eliot cursed as he ran back to his wardrobe for his missing article of clothing. Leo sighed to himself as the grandfather clock tolled eight o'clock.

Now we're in for it, they both thought gloomily.

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A/N:Well, what did you think? Please review to let me know.


	2. Haunting

Yay! The second drabble is up! And it's a Halloween one!

SPOILER WARNING: DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVE NOT READ PAST CHAPTER 46 IN THE MANGA

Disclaimer: Pandora Hearts, it's characters and such are all property of Jun Mochizuki. I own nothing except the plot of this story.

Enjoy!

* * *

Haunting

"You've got to be kidding me," Eliot said, glaring at the outrageous clothes before him. The outfit was a bright orange and purple motley fool's garb with a matching fool's hat and pair of jester shoes, both of which had green bells attached to them. Eliot glared daggers at the ridiculous costume. "This has to be a joke."

"Unfortunately not," Leo answered, standing behind Eliot in the doorway. "But it can't be helped. Besides, your costume could be worse."

Eliot scoffed and turned to his servant. "As if it could be any…" he trailed off when he saw Leo's costume. He stood there gaping for a moment until brain was able to comprehend what he was seeing. Eliot scowled at his friend and opened his mouth to speak.

"Not. One. Word," Leo said cantankerously. The brunette stood in the doorway wearing an elegant crimson ball gown with rather long, lace black poet sleeves. The gown's skirt was tight around his waist and draped to the floor, hiding the boy's feet from sight. In his right hand, he held a silver scepter. Atop his head was a silver crown adorned with garnet and onyx gems. The whole ensemble was surprisingly flattering on the four-eyed boy, his bifocals seeming to blend right in.

"Why in the hell are you wearing a dress?" Eliot yelled, ignoring Leo's words.

"This is what they gave me," Leo replied. "Apparently the tailors thought it would be comical to make me cross-dress."

Eliot's face twitched a little at the thought. He sighed agitatedly and turned to his fool's getup. "Remind me why we are doing this," he said.

"They already told us in class last week," Leo said. "Remember?"

It was Friday morning and the entire classroom was in disarray. The students had taken the desks and shoved them into clusters, each one for a respective clique. Eliot and Leo had pulled their desks together and were reading out of the same book, blocking out almost everything around them.

There was a loud bang as one of their teachers, Mr. Lawson, a young yet stern-looking man, kicked the door in, making the entire class practically jump out their skins. "Good morning, class," Mr. Lawson greeted stonily.

The class rose from their seats and said in monotonous synchronization, "Good morning, Mr. Lawson."

"Please take your seats so we may begin," Mr. Lawson said as he strode to his desk.

Eliot and Leo, as well as the rest of the class, moved their desks back into their appropriate spots and took their seats. Eliot leaned back in his chair and Leo still had his nose buried in his book as they waited for Mr. Lawson to begin the lesson.

"Now, class, as you all know, we are having the annual costume ball next week," Mr. Lawson said, receiving a loud throng of groans. Slamming a random meter stick down on his desk, he hollered, "Oh, hush! You are all required to attend! Those of you who fail to do so will have water thrown on them the day afterward and you'll fail the assignment. And I'm sure none of you want that, do you?"

An assignment? Everyone was now very confused, but no one dared to speak. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. So, Eliot decided to be the brave one and raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Nightray?" Mr. Lawson asked.

"What do you mean by assignment?" Eliot questioned.

"The annual costume ball is actually an assignment for the teachers to monitor and judge your behavior at formal social gatherings. A report on your mannerisms is sent to your parents stating how well-behaved you were. That's the way it is every year, but we never bothered to tell you about the graded part because when you all were younger you always looked forward to it."

That's the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard, Eliot thought crossly. It's just an excuse for the teachers to invade our privacy and spy on us.

"Now, any more questions?" Mr. Lawson asked. The reply he got was silence. "Good. The tailors will be here tomorrow to take the measurements for your costumes. Now, let us begin our discussion on modern literature."

"Yeah, I remember," Eliot grumbled. "But why in the hell do I have to be a court jester?"

Leo shrugged. "I don't know. Just put on the costume." Leo picked up the costume and flung it at Eliot, hitting his master in the face.

Cursing softly, Eliot pulled the gaudy, bright garment off of his face and glowered at it for a moment. He turned to his servant and said, "Make yourself useful and help me with this thing."

"Yes, Eliot," Leo answered and began helping his best friend with the costume. By the time they were almost done, Eliot was angrily pouting at his reflection in the mirror.

"I look ridiculous," the ash blonde boy huffed. Although the outfit fit him perfectly, he was quite displeased with the costume in general.

"That's the point of the costume," Leo said as he placed the hat on Eliot's head. He quickly glanced up at the grandfather clock in the main part of their dorm. He grabbed Eliot's sword case and said, "We better get going. The ball starts in ten minutes."

Eliot grabbed the case from Leo, slinging it over his shoulder and walked out of the dorm, jingling bells clinking as he moved. Leo followed after him, holding his skirt up a little so he would not trip over it. The two walked in silence, aside from the jingling of bells and clicking of heels, as they made their way through the halls.

The halls of Latowidge always seemed to hold a mysterious presence during the day, which now had escalated dramatically as it was nightfall. The shadows were larger, darker, more ominous, and seemed to hiding something within their depths. The candelabras on the walls were now lit, but they flickered rather eerily. The floorboards groaned and creaked loudly under their weight. The whole effect that the atmosphere provided was unsettling. Especially if you feel like you have a pair of eyes watching you.

"Is it just me or are we being watched?" Leo asked, looking over his shoulder.

"It's probably just one of our classmates trying to be funny," Eliot said in irritation. "Just ignore it."

Leo nodded. "If you say so," he said feeling slightly uneasy, though he gave no indication of it. He had a very bad feeling of dread at that moment. Leo had to try to resist the urge to look back over his shoulder again.

Then, he heard a faint whispering. "Eliot," Leo whispered, "do you hear that?" Eliot nodded, making them both aware that there was someone else in the hall with them. They quickened their pace a little to get to the ballroom downstairs faster, though the whispering was building to a loud hiss.

Suddenly, there was a loud creak behind them. They spun around and froze to their spots. There before them was a girl with blonde hair in a black witch costume. Her face was hidden under the wide brim of her black hat. She was holding an old leather bound book in her and was saying something, but her voice was so soft that it was hard to make out what she was saying. The girl was walking toward them slowly, her eyes seeming to be downcast on her tome as she advanced on them. She raised a hand toward them and a luminescent green orb formed in her hand.

Without any second thoughts, the two teenage boys screamed and sprinted down the hall as fast as their legs could carry them. Leo was having a hard time keeping up with his master as he kept stumbling over himself because of his shoes and cried, "Eliot, slow down! I can't run that fast in high heels!"

"Why are you wearing high heels in the first place?" Eliot shouted, slowing down a little as they ran down the corridor.

They reached the ballroom and stood outside the doors catching their breath. "That was close," Leo said sighed in relief. "But what was that all about?"

"I don't know, but that was definitely creepy," Eliot said as he straightened himself and opened the ballroom doors. The sounds of extravagant music and the sight their fellow guised peers were what met them.

Then, all heads turned toward Eliot and Leo and there was a moment of awkward silence. The kids all stared at them for what seemed like an eternity and then turned back to their friends and began chattering excitedly.

"Oh my gosh! It's Eliot!"

"He looks so different dressed like that."

"Who's the girl with Eliot?"

"Wait, isn't that Leo?"

"Oh my gosh! It is!"

"Why is Leo wearing a dress?"

"Are they supposed to be together?"

Eliot stood there clenching his fists and grinding his teeth, a vein in his head pulsing. What the hell, he thought. Can't I be seen with my servant/best friend without people gossiping?

Leo placed his hand on Eliot's shoulder. "Eliot," he said, "mind your manners."

"But…"

"No buts," Leo said, removing his hand from his master's shoulder.

Eliot sighed deeply and trudged over to the buffet table with Leo right on his tail. He grabbed a glass of some red fruity-smelling beverage and took a sip of it. He looked around and noticed that everyone else in the ballroom had quickly gone back to minding their own business and were paying the two of them no attention. Leo just picked up a cookie as the two of them eavesdropped in on an interesting conversation two girls, a genie and a fairy, nearby were having.

"Did you hear?" the genie asked.

"About what?" questioned the fairy.

"About the old legend of what happened on the night of one of these balls."

"No. What happened?"

"Well, the story goes something like this. There was once a girl who went to this school who was said to have practiced magic. This girl had a crush on a boy in her class and when she asked him to go to the ball with her she was rejected. That same day, she saw her crush ask someone else to the ball. She was so infuriated that she vowed revenge.

"The night of the ball, the girl went to the ball dressed as a witch. It is said that she used some of her magic to make the ballroom go pitch black. And then there were three bloodcurdling screams. When the lights came back, the bodies of the girl, her crush, and the other girl were all sprawled out on the floor in pools of blood."

"How spooky," the fairy whimpered.

"But that's not all," the genie murmured. "They say also say the witch girl's ghost comes back every year and roams the halls looking a new victim or two."

Eliot and Leo both gulped hard. They looked at each other and exchanged nervous expressions. They were both thinking the very same thought. Could she have been the girl we saw upstairs?

"You don't suppose we'll be next, do you?" Leo asked.

"Of course not!" Eliot said trying to be tough. "For all we know, that girl could have just been our mind's playing tricks on us."

Leo heaved a relieved sigh. "You're right. We're getting ourselves all worked up over nothing," he said, calming his nerves down a bit.

"Right," Eliot said nodding.

"Besides, if we run into her again, you're angry face should be enough to scare her off," Leo laughed and took off, running awkwardly in his heeled shoes.

"Why you…get back here!" Eliot shouted as he chased after his hysterically laughing servant.

Eliot and Leo were heading back to their dorm room after a surprisingly fun evening. Despite being a couple of wall flowers the whole time, the two of them had had each other and that was all either of them needed. The two friends were talking about what had happened that evening as they walked down the upstairs corridor.

"Did you see what happened between Annabelle and Marcus?" Eliot inquired.

"Yeah! Can you believe that she…" Leo trailed off as he looked past Eliot down the corridor.

Eliot turned to look down the corridor. There amongst the shadows stood the witch. She had her back turned to them and was chanting a strange incantation. Eliot got a hold of Leo's arm as they tried to ever so quietly make their away down past the hall. Creak went the floorboards and the witch spun around to face them.

"AAAAHHHHHHHH!" the boys screamed and made a mad dash down the hall.

"Wait!" the witch called after them in an irritatingly familiar high-pitched voice.

Eliot and Leo came to a screeching halt as they turned back to the witch. Finally seeing her face, Eliot felt his temper flare up dangerously. "Ada Vessalius, what do you think you're doing, you pinhead?" he shouted, receiving a smack on the back of the head from Leo for insulting her.

"Oh! I was just trying to be more in character," the blonde girl said hastily.

"Well don't go around scaring people half to…AAAAHHHHHH!" the ash blonde screamed and ran down hall to his room, dragging his servant along with him.

Ada watched as he slammed the door to his dorm room in confusion. She turned around and saw another blonde girl dressed as witch. "Oh! It's you again," Ada said happily. "C'mon! I have a lot of new potions that we need to test." The second witch nodded and the two skipped down the hallway and around the corner.

Meanwhile in Eliot and Leo's dorm room, the boys were sitting on the floor while slumped against the door in shock and fear. "Do you think she's gone?" Leo asked.

"I don't know," Eliot answered. "But I learned something tonight."

"What's that?" Leo asked.

"Costume balls are so overrated," Eliot said as he slumped against Leo in exhaustion.

"Agreed," Leo yawned and laid his head on Eliot's shoulder. The two were fast asleep within seconds, still leaning on the door behind them.

* * *

Please review to let me know what you think. Happy Halloween!


	3. Closet

Hi, everyone! I'm alive! Sorry it took me so long to update, but I've been really busy for the past few months. And the two latest chapters of Pandora Hearts depressed me to tears.

Anyway, I'd like to thank those of you who have reviewed, favorited or subscribed to this story or myself. You guys make it worth writing! So, here's the result of a stupid plot bunny that's been gnawing at my brain for a while. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Pandora Hearts, its characters and such are all property of Jun Mochizuki. I own nothing except the plot of this story.

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Closet

It was very late in the afternoon and the sun was setting, casting an orange glow through the halls of Lutwidge. Eliot and Leo were on their way back to their dorm room. The two teenage boys were discussing different ideas for a piece that was a work in progress.

"So," Leo began, "in the next measure there'll be a ritardando, right?"

"No, there's going to be an accelerando," said Eliot as they reached the door to their room, his eyebrow twitching. The young heir had already made up his mind on how he wanted the piece to sound, even though they were working on it together.

"But it would sound so much more emotional if the tempo slowed," his brunette servant insisted.

Eliot gripped the doorknob tightly, his temper flaring as he opened the door. "We are not slowing the tempo and that's…!" Eliot trailed off as his eyes stared into the room.

Leo, confused, peered into their room. In the middle of the floor was a creepy, little doll. The doll had blue skin and wore and flowing, pink dress. It had wavy, brown hair with the bangs tied up in a magenta bow. White, beady eyes stared at the boys in a way that seemed piercing as it sat there motionlessly. The Cheshire cat smile that was spread across its face was ghastly. Stubby fingers were attached to its fat arms and it had tiny feet.

Eliot was first to snap out of his puzzled state. "What the hell is that thing?" the ash blonde asked as he walked into the room and crouched down to stare at the doll.

Leo crouched down beside him and took out his pen. "It looks like a doll," he said. _A very creepy doll_, he added mentally. He poked it with his pen in the head. It shook and made a clattering sound as its head went limp, but what happened next was something that neither of the two friends expected.

The doll's head came back up with clatter. "Hey! Watch it, pal!" it said in a surprisingly male-sounding voice and their eyes widened.

Eliot's expression became a mixture of agitation and confusion. _Dolls don't just talk_, he thought. He was about to pick it up when he heard a creaking sound.

Eliot and Leo turned to see the closet door opening. Out of the closet stepped a white haired man in an odd purple outfit. They recognized him as a servant to the Rainsworth dukedom, Xerxes Break. The strange man looked about the room until his eyes landed on the doll.

"Ah, there you are, Emily," he said, a smile spreading across his features as he picked up the doll and placed it on his shoulder. "You should know better than to wander off by yourself."

"But I was bored," the doll whined.

Now, Eliot had had it. He had come back to his room to find a weird, talking doll, and now the Rainsworths' eccentric servant had walked out of his closet. He blew a gasket and drew his sword from its case, shouting angrily, "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?"

The albino man turned to Eliot, just noticing him and Leo, and blinked. He flashed them an eerie smile and said, "Oh, hello, Mr. Nightray and friend."

Eliot glared threateningly at Break and took a protective stance in front of Leo. "You didn't answer me," the heir said seething.

Break just merrily hummed as he strode back to the closet. As he walked back in, he turned to them with a creepy and began pulling the door shut. "Well, I bid you adieu," he said, the door shut with a crisp click.

Eliot lunged at the closet and flung the door open. The man was nowhere to be seen! Striding in, determined to find the bizarre man, he began throwing coats off their hangers. _He's got to be in here somewhere._

Leo watched his master's antics and sighed. "Eliot, please come out of the closet."

"…Shut up, Leo."

* * *

Yes, that was my lame attempt at humor, but I hope you enjoyed it.


	4. Snow In

Hello, readers! I'm still alive. I apologize for the long wait, but I've had so many new plot bunnies attack me within the past few months for other stories that I got distracted.

Anyway, this is a holiday one-shot! Hope you enjoy it!

Diclaimer: I own nothing except the plot of this story (and I apologize if this sounds like someone else's work (I'm not sure if it does because I haven't been on this website at all in the past month)), my OC Roderick, and the song title at the end.

* * *

Leo woke up to the sound of the bell in the school's clock tower tolling for the seventh hour. He sat up in bed and stretched, letting a yawn slip from his lips. He picked his glasses up off the bedside table between his and his master's beds and put them on. He looked around the room, only to notice it was rather gray compared to how it looked most mornings.

_My, it must be quite cloudy out this morning_, Leo thought.

The black-haired teen crawled out of bed. His body was immediately hit by a blast of cold air that easily permeated his thin nightclothes, and his feet became frigid as they hit the floor. He shuddered at the intense cold. He took notice of the fogged lenses of his glasses. He removed them and shifted his longs bangs slightly with a shake of his head, and he saw a white vapor as he exhaled a shaky breath of air.

Quickly cleaning his glasses and putting them back on, Leo went to the window and looked outside. Ashen flakes fell from the cloudy sky. The once grassy lawn and cobblestone walkways of the front courtyard were now covered in a thick, white blanket of snow. The water in the marble fountain was frozen over. He looked back to the sky. There was no break in the clouds.

No wonder it was so cold! Old Man Winter had come and was paying the academy a visit.

Shivering quite violently, Leo went over to his dresser to change into something a little warmer. He opened the bottom drawer and pulled out an expensive red sweater that had been bought for him courtesy of Elliot's sister Vanessa. Vanessa was not very fond of Leo, but her love for her baby brother was much stronger. And she was not about to let her baby brother go around, with his servant dressed like "a homeless commoner" as she had so kindly put it.

Leo changed out of his nightshirt and pulled the sweater over his head. He also pulled a pair of black trousers and thick socks out and put them on. He felt much warmer now, but he was still shivering.

The servant made his way over to his master and looked down at his sleeping form. Peacefully sawing logs, his master was all tangled up in his sheets with his pillow over his head.

_He looks so peaceful_, Leo thought. Then he gave a small smirk. _Well, time to wake him up._

The black-haired teen then gingerly rolled him out of bed along with the bed sheets. The ash blond landed with a thud on the cold, hard floor.

"Ow!" Elliot said. He sat up and glared with icy blue eyes at Leo, who stood there with the small smirk still etched upon his face. "What the hell was that for? And why's it so freezing?"

His servant pointed over to window with a slender pale finger. He picked himself up off the floor and marched over to it. His icy blue eyes stared out at the white world for a moment in silence.

"But we're supposed to go home today," he said quietly.

It was today that Lutwidge Academy would be releasing its resident pupils home for holiday break. They were going to spend two whole weeks with their families before returning back to their studies. But with everything being snowed over and their only mode of transportation being a horse drawn carriage, it did not look like that would be happening this year.

Elliot had actually been looking forward to going home for the holidays this year. This would be his first Christmas with his best friend. The past Christmases he had spent with his family had all been fine and dandy, but he hated how they always babied him so much. As much as he loved them, they would always drive him up a wall after the first couple of days. Leo was the only person who ever treated him like an equal and he might finally be able to keep his sanity intact for one Christmas.

The ash blond had also made the perfect Christmas present for his servant, and if there was one thing the teenage heir was good at making it was piano compositions. He often composed pieces for his insane mother on her birthday, but there was never any real meaning behind them. This new piece was a tribute to their friendship. The whole idea sounded kind of sappy, but true gifts come from the heart as they say.

For the past month he had worked on this piece for hours upon hours in secret, recollecting on how they met. He would even skip meals just to go work on it. It had gotten to the point where Leo had started worrying and began reprimanding him for not eating like he should, but he did not care. All he had been concerned about was finishing that piece.

Elliot had finally finished it this past week. He was so elated with its completion that his holiday spirit seemed to have kicked in. There were very few times when he was ever that good of a mood, but now his holiday cheer had been crushed by the one thing that most children hope to see on Christmas.

Snow.

Leo and Elliot, now dressed in a white sweater and brown trousers and his violin case slung over his shoulder, made their way through the halls to the headmaster's office. Surely he would have thought of something by now. When they got there, they saw almost every member of the student body crowded around the headmaster's door looking at something.

Elliot turned to look at his black-haired servant, but the shorter teen was gone. He looked back at the crowd just in time to see the boy's slim frame slip into the crowd.

_And he says I need to eat more_, Elliot thought.

Setting his case down, the ash blond leaned up against the wall while he waited for Leo to come back.

After a moment the scruffy-haired teen reemerged from the sea of bodies. "There's a sign that says to go to the auditorium and wait for further instructions," he said.

Elliot nodded, and they went on their way down the freezing hall. They walked into the auditorium and seated themselves near the back. It was a good thirty minutes before the rest of the students got there.

The headmaster then walked across the stage and up to the podium. "Good morning, students. I believe you all know why I've told you to come here."

_Obviously_, Elliot thought.

"I'm afraid the snow is far too deep for us to send you home," the headmaster continued. "You will be staying here at the academy until further notice. In the meantime, you are free to do whatever you wish, as long as it's within school policy. That is all."

As the headmaster left, the room started buzzing with chatter of ruined holidays. What were they to do now?

Then, the senior class representatives, a young man by the name of Roderick Greenich and Ada, ran up to the podium.

"Calm down, everyone," Roderick said, and the room fell silent. "Thank you. Now, please, people, let's try to stay positive here. Why don't we celebrate the holidays a little here while we wait for the blizzard to let up?"

"By doing what?" someone shouted.

"Well, what are stereotypical activities for this time of year?" Roderick asked.

"Caroling!"

"Baking cookies!"

"Decorating!"

"Good!" Ada said. "Now, you'll all be split up into three teams. Team One, you'll be caroling. Team Two, you'll be in charge of baking the holiday goodies. And Team Three, deck the halls! How does that sound?"

There was thunderous applause and cheers all around, enough to make Elliot and Leo cover each other's ears.

"Alright, everyone," Roderick said, "get into your teams and get cracking!"

In the midst of all the commotion, Elliot got up and ever so slowly began inching his way toward the exit, towing Leo along with him by the back of his sweater. As much fun as it sounded, he was not in the mood.

The teen heir and his servant were almost out the door when they were surrounded by a group of about a dozen girls.

"Elliot, you have to be on my team," a brunette said, taking him by the arm.

"No!" another girl, a strawberry-blonde, shouted as she grabbed his other arm. "He's going to be on my team!"

"No, mine!"

"No! Mine!"

"NO! MINE!"

Then the girls tackled each other and all hell broke loose. They were clawing at each other's faces, pulling at each other's hair, kicking, yelling and biting. They were pretty much trying to tear each other to pieces.

Elliot watched them silently for a split second. Then a candle flame flickered to life in his head.

"CATFIGHT!" Elliot shouted.

Everyone's attention turned to the two girls. Students rushed over to the scene, some trying to keep the girls from gouging each other's eyes out, while most just wanted to watch and make bets on who would win.

Elliot took this distraction as his chance to escape. He picked Leo up and slung him over his shoulder like Santa Claus would with his pack and took off out the door like a bolt of lightning.

"Was that really necessary?" Leo asked with a sigh.

"Yes!" Elliot said.

"How?"

"It…it just was!"

Leo sighed. "Whatever, just go to the parlor. I need warm myself up by the fire. My hands are starting to turn purple."

Elliot looked at his free hand. It had taken on a violet hue as well. "Alright."

They spent the remainder of the day in the parlor by a roaring fire with a tray of two cups of hot tea and a few small cakes, which Leo had managed to steal from the mess hall kitchen when no one was looking. The flames kept them from turning into ice sculptures, and the tea and cakes kept them from going hungry during the hours they had spent in there. Despite the tranquil atmosphere though, Elliot was not feeling any jollier than he had when he had looked out the window that morning.

As the sun began to set, they decided it was time to head back to their dorm room. Ready to go to bed, they stepped out into the hallway and paused for a moment.

"Looks like the decorating committee was here," Leo said.

It was true; the halls were definitely decked out. The decorations depicted all festive holidays of the season. It was enough to give anyone a sense of holiday cheer.

Well, except Elliot, whose eyebrow was twitching. He just wanted to go home and celebrate Christmas with his family and Leo. And he would not be happy until then.

Scowling at the decorations, Elliot kept moving. Leo followed after him, taking in the sight of it all.

They were about to pass the doors of the mess hall kitchen when they caught a whiff of the scent of gingerbread. Curious, they poked their heads through the doors. There were about two hundred students in the enormous kitchen doing a variety of different tasks—mixing ingredients or kneading dough or cutting out cookies or icing cookies or making gingerbread houses or carving hams or roasting chestnuts over a fire.

Elliot and Leo watched in disbelief.

_These kids probably haven't even cooked or baked a day in their lives_, Elliot thought. _How are things not blowing up?_

Then, somehow a ham exploded, and chunks of pig meat flew everywhere, causing the two friends to face palm themselves.

_Note to self, never let rich kids, with no experience, cook_, Leo thought.

Elliot and Leo got back to the dorm room and shut the door. The room was like an icebox. The frigid air made them both shiver.

Elliot flopped down onto the sofa while Leo went and got them both blankets. He tossed his master a blanket and wrapped his own around himself.

The dark-haired servant took a seat next to his master and picked a volume of the _Holy Knight_ series up off the coffee table. It was not the latest addition to the series and both of them had already read it. The newest volume had been released a few weeks ago, and Elliot and Leo were just itching to read it. However, anytime the academy had allowed the students to go to the nearest town and shop for gifts for their friends and family the bookshop never had it in stock. The academy's library could not even manage to get a hold of it. So all they could do was hope someone had bought it for Elliot for Christmas.

They had not even read past page ten when there was a knock at the door. Elliot got up and opened the door. There were about thirty students, some that he recognized and some that he did not, standing in the hallway with open books in their hands.

_Oh no_, Elliot thought.

"Deck the hall with boughs of holly," they sang loudly, sounding like mix between nails on a chalkboard and dying cats. "Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Elliot's eyebrow twitched and his ears felt as though they were about to bleed. He had never heard anything more horrendous in all his life. They had completely botched up a classic!

"'Tis the sea-"

"No! Shut up, you morons!" the ash blond yelled. "Are you tone-deaf? BECAUSE THAT WAS WORST RENDITION OF 'DECK THE HALLS' I'VE EVER HEARD!"

The carolers shrunk back, fearful of the Nightray's wrath.

Elliot stood there with his fists clenched. Oh, how he wanted to unleash all of his anger and frustration of being stuck here for Christmas on them, but he decided against it. Instead he picked his violin case up off the floor and stormed down the hallway.

Elliot let out a sigh as he closed the door to the piano room. Peace and quiet, just what he needed right now. And no reminders that he would probably be spending his Christmas here instead of at home like he wanted.

_Since I'm here, I should probably practice that piece for Leo_, he thought as he pulled his score book out of his case. He was glad he packed it in there earlier.

The ash blond walked over to the piano and took a seat. Placing his long, graceful fingers over the black and white keys, he struck the first key and let all of his emotions pour out as he played. The tune changed several times as he played—from lonely, to angry, to curious, to elated. These were all the feelings he had felt from the time they had met until Leo had become his servant and sole companion.

He continued to play until he hit the last note. Staring down at his pale hands, he sat there shivering from the cold.

_Will it be good enough?_ Elliot wondered.

Then, he heard clapping from behind him. He turned to see Leo standing in the doorway, clapping his hands.

The ash blond had a complete and utter spazz attack. "How the, when the, you…!" he stammered as his brain continued to malfunction.

"Yes, Elliot?" Leo said, holding back his laughter.

"H-how long have you been standing there?"

"I'd say…a few minutes."

"H-h-how much of that did you hear?"

"All of it."

His master groaned and laid his head down on the keyboard, the keys making a resonating screech under the weight of his skull. "It's ruined," he complained.

"What's ruined?" Leo asked.

"Everything!" he shouted. "First, we are stuck here for Christmas, and now you've heard the song! You weren't supposed to hear it yet."

Leo blinked his eyes behind his glasses. "Was that song…?"

"It was supposed to be your Christmas present," he said in a low, disappointed voice just loud enough for Leo to hear.

His servant sat beside his master and patted his back. "Now, now, Elliot," he said, "it's nothing to get upset about. Besides, I think the song sounded wonderful."

"…Really?"

"Really. Now," he said as he pulled a green package with a red bow, that Elliot just noticed, out from under his arm, "here's your present."

Quirking an eyebrow, Elliot took the package. "How did you get the money to buy this considering my family doesn't pay you?" he questioned.

"Well…"

It had been about a month ago, back at the Nightray estate. Leo had been on his way to the kitchen to get Elliot and himself some tea when something hit him in the back of the head. He turned around to see Vanessa standing there with a scowl on her face.

"Be sure to get him something nice for Christmas," she said, turned on her heels and strode down the hallway.

Confused, he looked down at his feet. There was a brown pouch lying there, and he assumed that was what she had thrown at him. He picked it up, noticing it was kind of heavy. He opened it to find that it was full of gold coins.

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he pocketed the pouch and continued on toward the kitchen.

"…let's just say Vanessa was feeling rather generous one day," he said.

Elliot was still a little doubtful, but he asked no further questions. He untied the ribbon and slowly tore off the wrapping paper. His icy blue eyes immediately recognized the shield with the two swords crossed behind it on the blue background.

"_Holy Knight_!" he shouted happily. "Where did you find it?"

"The bookshop in town," his servant answered.

"But they never had it in stock!"

"I bought it while you were distracted and paid the shopkeeper to keep quiet about it and not put the book back on the shelves until Christmas was over."

"But why?"

"I didn't want you buying it, because then there would've been no point in me buying it for you."

"Oh…" Elliot said. Then he smiled a rare, genuine smile. "Thanks, Leo."

_Even if we're stuck here, this Christmas won't be so bad_, he thought.

"You're welcome," Leo said. "So what's the name of the song?"

Elliot turned back to first page of the composition and cast his eyes over the title. He had spent hours trying to come up with a name for it, but nothing really seemed to stick too much. Then he remembered something from when Vanessa had taught him about the language of flowers.

"Tales of Ivy."

* * *

I apologize if it seems a little rushed, but I had the idea for this just last week I really wanted to get it out before Christmas.

Now, an explanation for the song title. A book that I read had a section on the language of flowers, and one the meanings behind ivy is attachment and everlasting friendship. The book is dated (52 years to be exact), so correct me if you know otherwise.

Feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think.

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays! And a Happy New Year!


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